The weather was still warm, but the trees had unexpectedly decided to dawn their autumn cloaks. The bright green forest seemed to shift into shades of blazing scarlet, and honey gold almost overnight.
Zephyr had been at the mansion for about two weeks. His speed had improved for the most part and his hand-to-hand combat skills had gotten better. He could now stop without face planting, and survive over 20 seconds when sparring with Angie. However, he still hadn't learned any of the speedster abilities, such as phasing and his father signature move, the spin-dash.
One partially sunny afternoon, Zephyr had just finished combat training with Aunt Maria, and had decided to take a walk through the fields. He noted all of the variety of fruits, veggies, and herbs they were growing. There were carrots, potatoes, strawberries and even peanuts growing their little shrubs close to the ground. On the arches that lined the pathways grew green beans, grapes of every color and strange blue/indigo flowers with gold details on their edges. They looked a little like morning glories, but unlike morning glories they opened but never seemed to close. At the end of the rows was the herb garden, there was mint, basil, and a bunch of other plants that Zephyr didn't recognize.
"HEY! ZEPHYR!"
Zephyr turned around and saw Damian, and Angie walking towards him. "Hey, Damian, Angie what are you doing?"
"Were going down to the sea shore to collect shells, shallow berries, corpse kelp or whatever we can find." Angie said.
"And maybe if we're lucky we might get to watch a starfish eat." Damian said with great enthusiasm.
"Well, now that sound exciting," Said Zephyr.
"Yeah, starfish pin their prey down with their legs, then throw up their stomachs to surround their food, and then they suck their stomachs back inside of themselves, with the food inside of it." Damian said with bright eyes and a big smile.
"Cool," Zephyr said not entirely sure what to do with this information, "How do you know that?"
"I read a book," Damian answered, nodding his head, incredibly proud of himself, before he continued towards the shore.
"And just when I thought I have heard everything." Zephyr said.
Angie giggled and snorted, "Yeah, Dami always got some random fact from something he's read. You'll get used to it."
"Guess I'll have to."
"So, are going to join us?"
"To the shore?" Zephyr's body suddenly became tense, and his face became uneasy.
"Yeah," she noticed his face, "Are you ok?"
"Yeah, why do you ask?"
"You can't swim. Can you?"
"What? oh, no I can swim, not very well, but I can."
"So, what's the problem?"
"Water makes my skin crawl, I'm just not comfortable being wet. Ma said it might be because I had a drowning incident. When I was a baby, I fell into the water and when I came back up, I wasn't breathing."
"Oh, I'm sorry I shouldn't have asked."
"It's alright, you didn't know."
"So, is that no? Because we're staying really close to shore, the deepest we're going is the tide pools. I don't trust Dami any further out."
Zephyr took a deep breath, water freaked him out, but Sparky and Aunt Maria were busy with something in the mansion's library, and Mari was busy on a supply run in Refuge City. So, his choices would be close to the water and have people to talk to or be far away from the water and completely alone.
"As long as I don't have to go into the water." Zephyr finally said.
"Deal."
Damian leaned over the edge of one of the aqua marine tide pools, that rested under the salty white sea cliffs. He could see a whole other world underneath the water's crystal-clear surface. Shiny shells of delicate colors rested on the sugar snow sand at the bottom, with small fish and crabs swimming and scuttling around them.
Most children would stick their hands into the water and try to touch them out of curiosity, but not Damian. He was too scared that he would hurt one of the creatures, or mess up the already too perfect picture in front of him.
He heard footsteps coming from behind him and turned his head. His honorary sister Angie and the newcomer Zephyr, were walking down the shore towards the pools. He jumped to his feet and ran over to them.
Angie and Zephyr walked down the seashore. The turquoise waves crashed on to the sugar snow sand turning into foamy white sheets.
"So, we're going to the tide pools?" Zephyr asked.
"Yep," Angie answered.
"Where's that?"
"Just under the sea cliffs."
"Where's that?"
"Remember the cliff we talked on the first night you got here?"
"Yeah."
"That was one of them. The cliffs over the tide pools are sort of like it. The only difference is that the cliff we were on dropped straight down into a part of the sea with really strong currents and sharp rocks."
"Ok, I'm never going up there again."
"If you don't jump off you don't need to worry about it, beside you're getting much better at stopping."
"Thanks."
"No problem, but that's also another reason why if you're not a strong swimmer you're not allowed to go far into the tide pools. Just beyond them is the sheer drop, from the cliff we were on. You don't want to slip on the rock and get caught in the current."
"Noted," Zephyr suddenly became even more unnerved, as a gruesome thought popped into his mind, "Has anyone drowned, there before?"
"I don't think so. At least not recently. After Mari's mom inherited it, only the league members and close family and friends have been on the grounds. However, I can't be sure about before she owned it. So, it is possible."
"That's unsettling."
"Yeah, I guess it can be, but I have only seen one spirit around here, so I wouldn't worry about it."
"Wait…What?"
"Angie! Zephyr! Are you coming?!" Damian shouted, as he ran towards him. He grabbed Angie's hand, "Come on! There aren't any starfish, but there are tons of pretty shells and I haven't even checked the shallow berries yet!"
Angie laughed and let Damian pull her towards the pools, "Ok! Ok! We're coming! We're coming!" and Damian dragged her off.
"What did I just hear?" Zephyr thought, and he followed the others towards the pools.
Damian leaned back over the pools, and started to gently pick up the shells. Angie was helping him, not to stir up the water that much, and Zephyr was leaning against the cliff wall; far away from the water.
Zephyr looked out into the thrashing waters. Even though being so close to so much water made his stomach do flips and cork screws, he couldn't deny that the Lunar sea was truly a sight to behold. Its colors were vibrant, and it was shinier than most gemstones he had seen.
Suddenly a quick gust of strong wind rushed past him, ruffling his fur. "What was that?" Zephyr thought.
Sure, with the sea came wind, everyone knows that, but this gust was different. Most of the wind around him blew inland, yet this gust seemed to move in multiple different directions, and Zephyr could have sworn he had heard it… trilling? He quickly looked in the direction that the gust went and saw it go up and over a large pile of sea rocks.
Curiosity, moved his feet forward, eager to find the strange gust. As he climbed up the pile, he quickly forgot where he was; the world faded away. But when he reached the top he quickly snapped back into reality, when he saw that on the other side of pile was a sheer drop straight into the sea. He nearly threw up, looking down into to choppy blue sea, that was veiled with spiderwebs of sea foam.
"Zephyr look at what we found!" Damian shouted.
He completely forgot about the strange gust and quickly turned around to join the others. He didn't even notice that some one's invisible eyes were watching him, from beyond.
That evening everyone was gathered in the dining room, for dinner as they always did. Zephyr had come to enjoy working in the kitchen with the others, and due to him being raised in a restaurant, he was also a big help. He was good at flavor combinations and with the herbs that they grew in the finest quality he could experiment with such combinations as much as he wanted. Most of those experiments made a quite the impression on the others. Some of them meals he had prepared made Damian ask if they could keep him.
They were all sitting around the dining table. The meal served was noodles spiced up with soy sauce, garlic, and olive oil, all boiled in a veggie soup, and a side of boiled broccoli and salty shallow berries. They were all talking, eating, and Mari was quiet as usual.
"Eh hum," Aunt Maria cleared her throat and the table went silent, "Everyone, I have made a decision."
"What's that, Aunt Maria?" Angie asked.
"Marisol will begin training Zephyr in the spin-dash tomorrow." Aunt Maria said before sipping her tea.
"I'm sorry…What?!" Mari suddenly spoke up.
"Yeah, you want Mari to teach me?" Zephyr said with surprised.
"Yes, I do." Aunt Maria calmy spoke.
"No offense Aunt Maria, but I don't want to die! I don't think I can be taught by her." Zephyr may have been at the mansion for a while but his relationship, or whatever you could call it, with Mari had barely changed since he got there. She always seemed to be hostile, and watching his every move. Although he wouldn't admit it, she kind of scared him. Not to mention he wasn't able to shake the annoying nickname she had given him.
"For once I agree you Zipper." She turned to Aunt Maria, "I cannot teach him. I'm mediocre at the maneuver at best."
"Marisol."
"I can't teach people in general. Much less someone who can't stand still for more than thirty seconds!"
"Marisol!" Aunt Maria raised her voice. She sighed deeply before continuing, "I know that you can have a short patience and I know you don't have that much experience with teaching…"
"So, I shouldn't be teaching!" Mari interrupted.
"Marisol, let me finish," Her eyes narrowed at Mari, and she took deep breath, "This is something that Zephyr needs to learn, and you are the only person here that can do the move and you know how to do it properly. I can't teach Zephyr as I have only used it once, and that was when I had both of my legs. Teaching is a skill that you will need in your future, so you will practice it by teaching Zephyr the spin-dash and enhancing his reflexes. Do you understand me?"
"Yes, Aunt Maria," Mari murmured.
The rest of dinner continued in silence.
"I honestly don't know If I want to learn to Spin-dash anymore." Said Zephyr.
"Are you really that nervous about Mari teaching you?" Sparky asked, as he installed another part into blue plane. He then turned to Zephyr who was lying face up, in the grass. "She's not someone to be scared of."
"No offense Sparky but have you met her? She trains 24/7, barely says anything, and pop out of nowhere. She's scary as heck!"
"No offense taken, but your being pretty closed-minded Zephyr."
"How? I know you have lived with her for a while, and that she's used to you, but it's been two weeks and she's still so hostile."
"First off 'a while' is an understatement. Second, the reason she isn't hostile towards me because I was practically raised as her second younger brother. You're a newcomer who has only been here for a few weeks, while everyone else was either born or have lived for a majority of their lives here. Thirdly, Mari's had really bad experiences from people from the outside. It's going to take more than a few weeks for her to consider you someone she can trust."
Zephyr Turned to Sparky, confusion and concern on his face, "Wait, bad experiences? What do you mean by that?"
"Uhm…you know…uh…I'm not the person you should be talking to about this. If you're really worried about her teaching you. You should be talking to Aunt Maria." Sparky said, clearly uneasy.
"Ok," Zephyr said, not entirely sure on whether to push the subject further. He got to his feet and began to walk away, but he quickly turned around, "Uhm…Where you think she is?"
Sparky flashed a smile, "Try her room, 6th floor, bright red door on the left."
"Thanks!" Zephyr rushed off.
Zephyr walked up the dark brown wood steps to the 6th floor. He arrived on the dark green floor, lit with normal colored candle light. Over the past two weeks he had noticed that the candle shifted colors, from a purply/pink at night to a normal golden flame in the day. He looked around until his eyes caught the sight of a bright red door with a golden handled.
Behind the bright red door, Zephyr found a decently sized room. The walls, appeared to be made of the same white stone as the cliffs, just polished and smooth. The furniture, was a mix of older styles and some foreign culture that Zephyr couldn't recognize. There were wooden round chairs, a low to the ground rhombus shaped table, and a canopied bed. A large number of photos were hung on the walls, and set on the many shelves.
Zephyr slowly made his way through the room, taking in the details, such as the red roses, on the table and the flowing teal curtains on the other side of the room, that seemed to be covering something like a very large open window. He looked closer at the pictures, specifically the ones on the nightstand next to the bed. Most of them were photos of her with her teammates or other members of the league, but one on the night stand made him somewhat confused.
It looked like it was taken around the same time as the 6th floor portrait. It was of her, Mari's father, and a creature that Zephyr couldn't recognize. It didn't seem to have any fur, but rather rough blue/grey-ish skin, with bright crimson stripes and crests. There were deep dark hollow eyes, in its nose less face, and Zephyr thought he could make out the tip of a long tail, in the back ground of the photo.
"What is that thing?" he whispered.
Suddenly there was a growl coming from behind Zephyr. It wasn't all that deep and guttural, rather high pitched and icy, but still intimidating. He slowly turned around, and found on the bed was a small creature. Different from the one in the photo.
Curled up it couldn't have been larger than a watermelon, but with its long neck, tail, and two large silvery metallic wings outstretched on its back, it appeared much larger. Silvery and navy-blue scales coated it body, giving a very reptilian look. Its long narrow head, held a mouth full of sharp pearly white fangs, glassy faded eyes, and crowned with long-curved spikes. It continued growling, and its tail began to twitch, revealing loosely attached spines; ready to fire at enemies.
"Hi… whatever you are…I'm ok…please don't hurt me." Zephyr stuttered, as the creature's mouth began to glow, with a wispy white flame. Zephyr closed his eyes waiting for whatever the wispy white flame was to hit him.
"ESPER! That enough!" commanded Aunt Maria clear calm voice. Zephyr opened his eyes and saw the creature stand down. Its' wings folded on to its' back, and its' tail dropped, before it laid down on its' stomach.
"Uh…Thanks," Zephyr said.
"You're welcome, and you shouldn't worry about her. Esper talks a big fight but she won't hurt anyone," She said before, making a trilling like sound. The creature, that was named Esper apparently, flapped its wings, flew over to Aunt Maria, and perched on her shoulder.
"What is it?" Zephyr asked feeling a little safer as Aunt Maria had appeared to have trained Esper.
"She, Zephyr, not it, creatures like these need to be respected and have you really never seen a dragon before?" Aunt Maria scratched Esper on the head.
"A dragon? Where did you get a dragon?!"
"She was a gift." Aunt Maria walked thought the teal curtains gesturing for Zephyr to follow her. "Tea?" she sat on one of the chairs next a table that rested on a hidden stone balcony.
"Uh sure," Zephyr took a seat in the other chair.
"So, you were looking at my photos?" She asked pouring him a cup. "Sugar?
"Oh, yeah…sorry about that I didn't mean to snoop and no thank you on the sugar." Zephyr apologized as he took his cup.
"It's alright, as long as you didn't take anything. Did you find anything interesting?"
"Why?"
"Well, I saw you were quite interested in one on my night stand."
"Yeah, I guess I was. What is that one?"
"Oh, just a photo of me and brothers, maybe 15 years ago."
"Wait…your brothers?"
"Yes. Is there an issue?"
Zephyr didn't say anything. He just looked at her in utter confusion.
"We aren't blood related if that's what you're wondering. Not me at least."
"Oh…" he was still confused.
"Is there another reason why you came up to my room?"
"Uhm…Well… the thing is…."
"You're worried about having Mari as a teacher."
"No! sort of… *sigh*… yes."
"Zephyr you don't need to worry about it."
"Really? With how hostile she is towards me? She could kill me! Maybe if I got lucky only serious injuries. And she said it herself that she can't teach me…!"
"Stop right there. Zephyr teaching you isn't her problem. It's interacting with another living being that she doesn't know well."
"Well, if she just started talking to me, she wouldn't have this problem."
"Oh, Zephyr it's not that easy for her. She always hated being the center of anyone attention, ever since she was little. She's always preferred to bleed into the background. A favored skill for a spy but one that makes it difficult to form relationships. Haven't you noticed how quiet she is?"
"No, I barely notice her at all."
"That's the point, if you can keep your head down no one will bite it off."
"Who would want to bite her head off? Do cross-breeds really get a rep that bad."
"It's not just the fact that's she's a cross-breed, it's also who she's related to."
"You mean her father?"
Aunt Maria nodded again.
"But why? she's not him."
"It doesn't matter Zephyr, he was a threat, and anyone who is considered his ally is also a threat. Even a little girl." Her voice softened a little. She took a deep breath. "Zephyr, if you're going to stay here you will need to know the spin-dash and Mari will be teaching it to you. unless you rather me have her teach you weaponry."
Zephyr looked at her, not sure how to respond, but his face said everything. Clearly, he was going to choose the spin dash. He doesn't want be any near Mari with knives. "She's seen how to do it?"
"She's seen everything. Don't worry about it, Zephyr. Mari won't hurt you."
"Because you won't let her?"
"No. I doubt she could let herself."
Zephyr was hiding in nearby bushes, his head poked out of the auburn leaves. In the valley below Mari was training on the sym glass field; this time she was fighting translucent glassy figures of mobians. He patiently waited for her to be done, remembering what happened last time he interrupted her. When the last glass mobian was shattered, Zephyr took a deep breath and forced himself to meet her.
Mari wiped the sweat from her brow, and looked up at the hill to her right. A deep sigh filled her lungs, as she saw the blue fluff ball coming towards her. She didn't enjoy the arrangement, but she understood her Aunt's reasoning and Mari wasn't going to disobey her.
"Hey," Zephyr said trying to be friendly.
"hello," Mari said flatly, before an awkward silence fell upon them.
"Uhm…So…shouldn't we start?" Zephyr asked.
"Yes, we should," Mari walked off, "This is the part where you follow me." she called back.
Zephyr rolled his eyes and followed her. They went to the field next to the large lake Zephyr had walked over on his first day. There was a small round platform, and a box of various items.
"Ok, where do you want to start?" Mari asked already tired of this situation.
"Uh, what do you mean? I've never done this before," Zephyr said.
"The beginning, got it." She turned around to face him, "So, what do you know about the spin-dash?"
"That it's a move used by speedsters…uhm…?"
"*sigh*, what do you NOT know about the spin-dash?"
"Basically, everything that I'm supposed to do with my body."
"Well, you tucked in your legs and duck your head down…"
Zephyr was already confused, "Maybe you could do a demonstration?"
Mari seamed to freeze up, "Are you sure? I'm not the best form."
"Yeah, I find images easier to understand rather than words."
Mari sighed deeply and slowly took off her dark green vest jacket and the golden ring necklace, clearly uncomfortable doing so.
"Hold these, and be careful." She handed her things to Zephyr before turning away, to get into position.
"Got it." Zephyr said taking the things, "Don't worry I'll be…careful?"
Zephyr eyes widened as he looked at Mari's back. She had been wearing a cropped white shirt, under her vest jacket, that exposed most of her back…and something else. A scar. It was large. Shaped like a lightning strike. It started on her left shoulder blade, before creeping across the rest of her back like a spider's web. Was it some kind of burn?
"Uhm…Mar…" Zephyr was about to ask but stopped not sure whether he should ask or not.
"Ok, here's what you're going to do." She got on all fours in a runner's stance. She ducked her head down and in the next two seconds she was a purple and black ball spinning in place.
"Wow…" Zephyr mouthed.
Mari stuck out her legs and stopped herself. "Do you understand?"
"Yes, that really helped." Zephyr handed back Mari's things.
"Good," Mari walked away from him while putting her jacket back on.
Zephyr Quickly got on all fours and tried to do the spin himself, but ended up doing a single roll, and hitting his head.
"Zipper what are you doing?" Mari asked looking at him lying on the ground in an awkward position.
"Uh, trying to do a spin-dash."
"You're not ready to do the full maneuver."
"How, do you know? I'm faster then I look."
"You have never heard of this move before you got here. You don't have the stomach strength or endurance to do the move. Regardless of your speed," She turned around, "Come on."
Zephyr hopped to his feet, and followed Mari. She led him over to the round platform.
"Get on." She said.
"Ok?" Zephyr stood on the platform as Mari, went over to the box and pulled out, two black cups, a pitcher of water, a wash cloth and a large silver bucket. She filled the black cups about half way with water and walked back over to him.
"Put out your hands."
Zephyr did and she placed the cups in them readjusting his fingers so the cups were sitting in his palms.
"I'm sorry if I missed something, but what are we doing?"
"The only goal in this exercise is to keep the cups as full as possible. Got that?"
"Ok. What's the bucket and the cloth for?"
"You'll find out," She said as she hit a button on the base of the platform.
Zephyr's world began to rush past him, as the platform started spinning. Images twisted and folded on each other, as dizziness took hold of his senses. His legs quickly became weak and the next thing he knew he was on the ground, completely wet (much to his dislike), and couldn't open his eyes without the world looking like it was in a salad spinner.
"You alright?" Mari asked as she turned off the spinner and walked over to him.
"Yeah, just really dizzy. Why are we doing this?"
"Do you honestly think that you don't spin in a spin-dash? We're building up your endurance."
"Ok, got that." He lifted himself up off the ground, and stumbled when he got to his feet.
"Hold still," Mari grabbed his shoulders and steadied him, "You feel nauseous?"
"No."
"Can you do it again?"
"If it teaches me to spin-dash, yeah."
"Ugh…" Zephyr laid over the silver bucket. His stomach, although now empty, felt as if someone had twisted and tugged at it from the inside. At least he found out what the silver bucket was for.
"You alright?" Angie asked, she was wetting the wash cloth, with water from the pitcher. She had shown up when the motion sickness started hitting.
"Do I look alright?" Zephyr groaned, "The teacher ditched when her student gets sick. Way to go Mari."
"You've been dry-heaving, for the past couple minutes. I think you're empty," Angie gently and slowly rolled Zephyr on to his back and place the damp cloth on his forehead. "Don't be too mad at Mari. She didn't want to get sick today. She's got enough problems."
"Get sick?"
"She throws up at the sight of throw up. That's why she asked me to come and watch you train."
"Oh…Really?"
"Yeah, I know it's hard to believe. The daughter of 'The Ultimate Lifeform', tosses her stomach at the sight of vomit." She rolled her eyes, "People just can't believe that! She's not a robot! She can have things that gross her out."
"Not a robot? She sure acts like one."
"Haha…is that what outsiders think? That every quiet kid is secretly a robot?"
"No. Not all the time. Wait a minute! Ultimate Lifeform? Since when was she the Ultimate Lifeform?" Zephyr shot up, but quickly became dizzy and fell back down, "ugh."
"Don't move like that again. You could cause yourself to dry heave again." She took the cloth and soaked it in the water again, before putting back on his forehead, "To answer your question, no she is not the Ultimate Lifeform. Her father was though, and with her powers she could definitely take up his mantle if she wanted too."
"Man, how come her dad had such a cool title?!"
"Oh, come on! Your father was dubbed 'The Fastest Thing Alive'. Don't you complain!" she jokingly fussed at him.
Zephyr chuckled at that remark. It was true and he shouldn't be upset, but that didn't stop him from joking. "Did your parents have any cool titles?"
"Oh, not really. My dad was sometimes called 'The Guardian of the Master Emerald' and my mom was called a 'Super Thief'. Nothing too flashy."
"I think those aren't so bad. Your mom was a thief?"
"Yes, my mom was a thief, a good one too. There isn't a thing on this planet that she can't swipe."
"What did she steal?"
"Anything that the League or G.U.N needed, like codes, secret weapons and things like that, but her favorite things to grab are gemstones or anything shiny enough."
"So, your mom was a thief and your dad was a noble guardian? How on Mobius did they get together?"
"My mom is a jewel thief and my dad had owned the biggest most powerful jewel on the planet. They were destiny."
Zephyr laughed at her joke. "I guess they were."
"Yeah, they drove each other crazy, but even through it all they knew they had each other's backs." she looked away from him clearly upset, "H-how your stomach?" she asked pulling herself together.
Zephyr looked at Angie. It was clear that she didn't want to go any deeper into the subject. "It's better. I think I can walk, but I'm going to skip lunch." He tried to get up.
"I don't think anyone will stop you, on that." She said helping him to his feet.
Zephyr, got to his feet feeling a still a little unsteady but it wasn't as bad as before. Thanks to Angie he didn't go tumbling back down to the ground.
"You ok?"
"Yeah, just a little dizzy. It's not bad though."
"Is he better?" Mari asked as she walked over to them.
"He'll be alright, but DON'T put him on the spinner again." Angie said.
"I won't, at least not today."
"That's all, I can ask for." Angie let go of Zephyr so he could stand on his own. She then walked away from them taking the silver bucket with her. "See ya'll later!"
Mari cringed at the bucket, clearly unsettled by it, as Angie walked past her. Zephyr nearly snickered.
Mari cleared her throat, "Well, I suppose we should work on something else. Come on."
Damian moved the beads, on the mancala board and ended up tricking Angie into a pretty massive steal. Upping his score from 16 beads, to 34.
"Wait what?" Angie, said somewhat confused.
"How did that happen?" Said Sparky. Both he and Angie were playing against Damian.
Damian giggled and waited for them to make there move.
"I don't know what to do here Sparky." Angie said.
"Nether, do I Angie. I can't believe we're getting schooled by a 5-year-old." Sparky said, making Damian giggle.
Suddenly they heard the loud wooden creaking off the old carved entrance doors. Then footsteps. Zephyr walked in; arms wrapped around his stomach.
"Hey guys." He when over the nearby couch and flopped on top of it.
"Hey, Zephyr," Angie said, "Is your stomach alright?" she walked over to him.
"Sore…I have never done so many sit-ups in my life." His voice was muffled by the pillow his face was in.
"Yeah, try not to laugh tomorrow." Angie joked.
"I don't think I'll be able to move."
The creaking sound of the doors were heard again then Mari walked in. Damian hopped from his chair and ran over to her.
"Mari, what did you do to him?" Angie asked.
"I trained him." Mari answered flatly as she scooped up her brother into her arms.
"More like tortured." Zephyr mumbled. "Why were you even having me do this?"
"Because your core needs to be strong enough in order to resist all of the centrifugal force, that happens when you spin. If you don't, you'll start out great but then fly all over the place like a ragdoll." Sparky answered.
"Don't my powers handle that?"
"No." Mari said.
"Super speed does not mean super strength, Zephyr." Angie explained, "There are some things that you will still have to work for."
"Did anyone leave anything they need outside?" Damian suddenly asked.
"Why?" Zephyr asked confused.
"It's going to rain."
"How do you know?" Zephyr asked.
"I just have a feeling."
"Good thing I picked up the equipment then." Mari said.
"Well, I'm going make dinner," said Zephyr, as he picked himself off the couch.
"You sure?" Angie asked.
"Yeah, I need to cook. It will help me relax."
"Can I help?" Damian asked, slipping out of Mari's arms and down to the ground.
"Sure, Damian."
"YAY!" Damian ran over and grabbed Zephyr's hand and led him over to a book case, *click, click, click, * the book case moved to the right opening up a new door.
Zephyr was slightly startled, but quickly shook it off. He knew that this place was practically a haunted house attraction and by this point nothing really surprised him.
Angie was about to follow them, but she stopped and looked back at Mari, concerned. She was rubbing her forehead and her left ear was twitching.
"Mari?" She asked, letting her voice soften.
Her friend stopped rubbing her forehead, and turned to her; the ear was still twitching. "hmm?"
"Are you alright?"
"Yeah, I'm just tired." Mari said before walking out of the room.
Sparky and Angie shared concerned looks. Both in the lounge and later at dinner when Mari was absent. They knew what was happening.
Damian was right. The next day it was pouring. It was raining so hard it looked like there was blizzard outside, and it wasn't without thunder and lightning. Zephyr was staring out the lounge that had a large window. He was very sore, but he would walk it off.
"Zephyr? You in here? Breakfast it ready." Sparky asked as he walk into the room.
"Coming, Sparky. You don't have tell me twice when it comes to food." Zephyr said, as he hopped off the couch he was sitting on.
Sparky laughed, "I figured."
Suddenly loud thunder roared and raddled the walls, sparky cringed at the sound.
"You ok?" Zephyr asked seeing his friend's expression. The two of them walked down the hall, towards the dining room.
"Yeah, it just catches me off guard sometimes. I've always hated these storms."
"What do you mean these storms?"
"Well…I'm sure you know that by now, this isn't really a normal building, right?"
"Of course, I do. With all the moving walls, holograms, freaky color changing candles, plants glowing at night and the secret passage ways."
"Yeah, well you'll come to find that weather is just as weird as mansion and forest beyond it. We get these storms every few months and they can go on for days, but when they stop the house isn't even wet, and nothing is out of place."
"Weird."
"Yeah, Aunt Maria says they come from the Lunar Sea when its mourning, but I think that's just a silly legend. What does a sea have to mourn about?"
"Don't look at me. When it comes to water, I'm clueless."
The two of them turned left and entered the dining room. Inside was Angie Damian and Aunt Maria. Angie was putting breakfast on the table, while Aunt Maria watched Damian scribble on a piece of paper.
"Good morning," Aunt Maria greeted.
"Morning Aunt Maria," Zephyr and Sparky said in unison.
"Morning ya'll," Angie said.
"Morning," said Damian.
"What's for breakfast? It smells great!" Zephyr said as he took his seat.
"Toast and bacon. Oh, and eggs if you want those." Angie said, a little grossed out.
"Do you not like eggs?" Zephyr asked.
"Well, when you consider the fact that a good bit of my ancestors hatched, you sort of lose taste for them."
"Point taken."
Angie giggled, and took her seat.
Zephyr looked around the dining room, noticing that someone wasn't there. "Hey where's Mari?"
"Damian where's your sister?" Aunt Maria asked.
"In her room, she's having another migraine." Damian said.
Angie, Sparky and Aunt Maria all shared worried glances. Zephyr sensed something was off.
"Migraine?" he whispered to Sparky.
"Yeah, Mari gets them sometimes." Sparky whispered back.
"How often is sometimes?"
"Every few weeks sometimes more, sometimes less."
"How bad are they?"
"She can't open her eyes without throwing up."
Zephyr didn't need to know anything else. "Why did she have migraines? It must because of all the training and work she does. She really needs to chill out." He thought.
"I'll check on her after breakfast." Angie said.
"Thank you, Angelina." Aunt Maria said. "Zephyr, Sparky."
"Yes, Aunt Maria?" Said the boys in unison.
"Considering, that it is currently storming and Mari is unable to teach you. You both may work together, on discovering your limits today."
"Umm? Aunt Maria? Where are we supposed to do that? All the equipment was outside." Zephyr asked.
"The indoor training area, of course." She answered.
"Oh." Zephyr said. He was completely unaware that they even had one of those. He really needed to explore the mansion more.
"Well, sounds like we got a plan for today." Angie said.
About an hour later Zephyr was running on a treadmill, that was very similar to the one he had run on his first day, just not as dusty. His legs invisible to the naked eye, blue lightning surrounding him in a protective web. The running form, that Mari had briefly shown him and Sparky had helped refined, made it much easier to break the sound barrier.
"Ok, that's enough." Sparky said. He was sitting behind a desk, with a holo-screen flouting above it.
Zephyr slowed down, and hopped off of the treadmill. "How was that run?" he asked, as he walked through the Training Hall towards Sparky.
The Training Hall was large space. It's walls, floor, and part of the ceiling appeared to be coated in a shiny metallic substance, that seemed to be able to morph into anything. In fact, the Treadmill that Zephyr was previously was on seemed to have already melted into the floor. Zephyr was still kind of weirded out and amazed by the room. Sparky said that the room was made out of the same stuff the Sym-glass field was, just thicker. He honestly can't believe that he missed such a big place.
"One of your better ones. Your levels were higher than usually, and you don't seem as winded. Which could mean your abilities are expanding." Sparky said, gesturing screen.
"Does that mean I'm getting faster?"
"Yep. You hit over 950 MPH."
"So, that's why I was so hungry this morning."
"Yeah, that would be one of the reasons. Man, at this rate, you just might surpass your old man."
"You really think so?"
"Yeah, with the right training, you'll be a master speedster in no time."
"I know that I still have to learn the spin-dash but to be honest I don't know if my stomach could handle it."
Sparky laughed, "Mari had the same issue, you'll get over it. But I'm not just talking about the spin-dash. I'm talking about all the other moves you father could use. Phasing, throwing his lightning, running on water, whipping up a tornado, speed clones. Heck! if you can convince her! Aunt Maria might even teach you chaos control."
"Chaos control, but that's a chaos move. I thought you had to have a connection to Chaos energy line in order to use chaos moves."
"Sort of, you won't be able to do most of the chaos moves as you don't have a natural connection, like Mari does. However, if you had a relic of chaos…"
"Relic? like a chaos emerald?"
"A relic of an energy line is just an object infused with said line's energy, and yes the chaos emeralds are relics of the chaos line. With a chaos emerald, you might be able to use it in the form of chaos control. Your father could use it, so you might be able to."
"Really? He could use it. I thought that only Mari's Dad could."
"Your, father could he just didn't use it that often. Left most of the chaos powers to Mari's dad."
"You really think I could learn how to use it?"
"With the right training yes, but you'd have to convince Aunt Maria to teach you. However, you might want to focus on your speed for now, so go grab some water and then well test your endurance."
"Aye, aye Captain."
Aunt Maria, looked over the railing of the Library's balcony, and down into the Training hall. She watched the two boys laughing as they worked together. It brought a warm smile to her face. It had been so long since innocent laughter had been heard in that room. She sighed, and turned away from the balcony, walking deeper into the library.
The mansions' library wasn't like any other, normal library, sure it had things a normal library would have, like tall selves, tables, chairs, couple of potted plants, and of course an abundance of books; both old and new. However, this place also had things that weren't in normal libraries. Like the rest of the mansion, the dark wooden bookshelves would constantly rise, lower, move, and even exchange books throughout the day. The gentle flowing of the many waterfalls, the library held whispered into her perched ears.
She got to the center of the library, there was a large round table. It was made with the same dark wood that almost everything else was. The edge was carved, and dark green, gold and Indigo/purple gemstones were imbedded in delicate patterns. In the center of the table was a large column, that went up to the skylight in the ceiling, and had an abundance of purple and golden flowers growing on bright green vines that twisted and tangled around it.
She sat on one of the chairs. Took the communicator off of her wrist and gently placed it on the table. She went through her list of contacts before selecting one, and waited. Within a few moments the other side of the line picked up.
"Yello?" spoke a female voice that was slightly distorted due to the distance between them.
"Afternoon Sandy. How's things on the front? Is your husband dead yet?" Aunt Maria answered her friend for their monthly update to each other.
"Very funny. He's fine; hasn't gotten himself killed yet. However, things aren't as fine we're starting to run low on supplies and soldiers, so we've not been progressing as we should."
"How bad?"
"We're not losing any of territory, but were not gaining anything either. Moral is at an all-time low and we can't get anyone else to help. Scourge has got almost everyone believing his lies. At this rate it's only a matter of time before he reaches the forest. Maria it might be time to…"
"No, we can't. They're not ready."
"Maria, we can't wait that much longer. If we don't reveal the children to the world soon, we are going to be slowly suffocated by Scourge's forces. The kids will be the proof that what we have been saying is true and that will bring so many more people into our fold. They are the proof that the league was not disbanded but murdered. Don't you want justice for all of their deaths?"
"Of course, I do. But right now, isn't the right time."
"Then when? We're running out of time. The league is almost gone, Maria. Four are missing, eleven have been assumed dead. There are only five of you that are confirmed alive and that's including you. We can't keep the kids in the dark forever."
"They're not ready Sandy."
"Those kids have been training their whole lives for this and you're going to tell me they're not ready?"
"Not all of them."
"If you're talking about Damian. I'm NOT going to send a five-year-old on to the battle field. I'm not a psychopath."
"Not just him."
"What are you talking about? Did something happen? Did someone get hurt do you need me to get over there?"
"No. No, no one is hurt."
"Then what's the hold up?"
Aunt Maria sighed, "We found him.," and the line went silent.
"Maria, please tell me you're not joking."
"I'm not, nor would I try."
"So, the bloodline of the Blue Blur lives. Kid like his dad?"
"Like father like son."
"Wow, the troops will get a kick out of this."
"You might not want to tell them."
"Why?"
"Because there is still a chance that he won't want have anything to do with this."
"You gave him a choice?! Maria, that kid is the son of one of the world's greatest heroes, who has his father's powers. That kid is living proof for our cause. That kid has survived Scourge's wrath. That kid…"
"Is a Kid! A child! He's ten! He shouldn't have to be wrapped up in a war, at his age! He might not want to be a hero, Sandy."
"Maria, Charmy was six and your youngest brother was not even three, in the Equinox War."
"They still had a choice, on whether or not they wanted to be involved."
"Maybe we're past choices. I know you've worked with the kids and know their limits, but you haven't been out here. We're losing people, and not just on the battle field; they're leaving by choice. They've lost sight of what we're fighting for. With every member of the league that has fallen so has their hope. We need something for them to rally around again."
"He's had his powers for less than two months. He's not ready."
The line went silent, clearly surprise. "Ok, Train him first, but I'm not asking to send to him or the other kids to their deaths. I'm asking to tell people about them. Break the vow of silence."
"I…" Maria sighed, "I don't know."
"Maria please."
"I don't want them to see what's happening out there. I don't want them to see the hurt and loss of war. You know what this struggle has done to Mari. I don't want the others to feel that pain."
"I know, but you can't keep them safe forever," The line went silence for a moment, "Look how about a test run?"
"What do you mean?"
"Scourge has set up a storage silo near the farms outside of Equinox City."
"And? We're near them but I don't understand what you want us to do."
"This Silo is going to be taxing farmers, not just for their money but for a good percentage of their crops. What's going to be stored there will be used to help fuel a direct attack on the front. If he gets this thing running, he will have the resources to send a full-blown attack on our forces. 30% of our troops will be whipped out."
"And you want the children to take out the silo before he gets a chance."
"It will be good, field experience for them. Not to mention you'll be going at night."
"Under the cover of darkness?"
"Nobody sees, nobody knows. So, what do you say?"
"I'll let them decide."
Zephyr walked up the staircase, in the dormitory. Aunt Maria had announced that there was a mission available at dinner, and that it was their decision on whether not to take it. The vote was almost unanimous, since Mari wasn't present; she was still recovering. Zephyr was excited and nervus. A mission, he would be following in his parent's footsteps. A mission, he would be going against a king…who had and army. He couldn't help but be worried.
"Was this the right move? Couldn't we just try talking to Scourge? No, what am I thinking? This guy murdered almost the entire League of Chaos. He concurred the world. He stole a happy family from everyone here. He murdered my parents. He doesn't deserve a second chance. Then why do I not hate him?" Zephyr thought, "I wish I knew I little more about this mission. Aunt Maria was so cryptic. Maybe Angie knows more. Aunt Maria did talk to her after dinner."
Zephyr changed his destination, from the third floor to the 7th. The Zephyr hadn't been to the 7th since his first night. He didn't like how dark it was and didn't want Mari to get the drop on him again. He felt relatively braver this round as it was still day time and, as far as he knew, Mari was down with a migraine.
The 7th floor was well lit, very different than last time. The walls were purple/indigo like he had suspected. Candles, with golden flames lit the floor, and made the richly colored doors visible. He glanced around, trying to figure out which door led to Angie's room. He was crossed between a glassy white door, with golden detailing and a hot-pink one with silver etching. Both seemed flashy enough for her.
"What are you doing here?" A voice came from behind him.
"Mari?" he quickly turned around. To see Mari, but she looked completely different.
Her quills were down and messy. Her brown eyes, seemed tired and strained. Her left ear twitched uncontrollably, while the other seemed limp. All in all, she looked terrible. Those migraines must be worse that Sparky described.
"Are you okay?" He asked, concerned.
"You should be resting, as soon as this storm is over, we're heading out." She croaked. He noticed her voice was horse and cracking.
"Oh, I just wanted to talk to Angie. Wait? How do you know about the mission? You weren't at dinner."
"I told you. Nothing goes on in this mansion without me knowing."
"Oh, right."
She looked him up and down, noting his fidgetiness. "Getting cold feet?"
"Uhm, of course not…what made you think that?"
"You're fidgeting. Is the news of a mission making you nervus?"
"No, it's not that. Sure, I am a little worried about it. It's just is this the only way? Sc…uhm…*he* may have had done really, really bad things, but a lot of people are really happy under his rule. Do really need to stop him?"
Mari glared, "Are you really asking that? Don't you know what he's done? Oh, wait who am I kidding, you wouldn't know, being raised as an outsider. You don't know anything."
"Hey, I do know what it really is like out there. You've lived in here all sheltered, you don't know how some people are."
"Out there is nothing but an illusion. You grew up in a very small town, one *he* most likely considers insignificant. So, *He* didn't need to do much in order to get the people there to believe his lies. He made an entire false story, and the world believed him. Everything you were taught about him is a lie."
"Maybe that's true but that doesn't mean we have to destroy everything he's built; he's actually helped some people's lives."
"And ended others. I shouldn't be auguring with you about this. You won't understand until you see it. So, I take since you're going on the mission you've made your decision."
"Decision? What, decision?"
"The decision on whether you're staying here or not."
"Why would I want to leave? This is my parents' work and legacy. I don't want to leave that behind."
Mari rolled her eyes, "You really are a fool," she muttered.
"Why do keep calling me that?"
"Cause, you can't see what's right in front of your face."
Zephyr's ears, flattened against his head, in an angry manner. His fists clenched. What had he done to her? Why was she so cruel? He would have lunged towards her if the hot pink door hadn't creaked open.
"Hey Zephyr," said Angie, she waved at him. Angie suddenly glanced up and her face grew concerned. "Mari?! What are you doing out of bed!?"
"I needed to stretch my legs."
Angie had rushed over to Mari, clearly concerned, "Stretching your legs or not. You should be in bed."
"I'm fine Angie."
"Your ear is twitching."
Mari looked away, "It's not as bad as this morning."
"Still, you should be in bed. Especially if you want Aunt Maria to give you a pass for the mission."
"Fine. I'll go back to bed if it makes you feel better. But I'm grabbing a snack first, I haven't eaten all day and I finally got my appetite back."
A light blue flash flared, making Angie flinch, and Mari was gone. Angie sighed, and kicked the floor, clearly frustrated.
"Angie?" Zephyr asked.
She took a deep breath, "Yes?"
"Are you alright?"
"Yeah, I'm okay now. It's just sometimes she makes me panic, and it gets on my nervus."
"Yeah, I've found out, she's good at that. I guess the House of Shadow the Hedgehog are good at that."
"Don't blame her bloodline. Her uncle is actually pretty perky and polite. Now, is there something you wanted to talk about? I've notice they you don't really come up this far, into the dormitory."
"Yeah, there is and I'm sorry for up here more often."
"It's okay, I know it can be a bit creepy up here at night. So, what did you want to talk about?"
"It's just this mission. Do you know anything more about it?"
"Feeling a little nervus huh?" she raised on of her brows.
"Sort of. I know where taking out a silo, but that's all. To you know anything more?"
"Besides for the basic plan, not really. We hack into the systems, turn off the security, infiltrate the building, plant some bombs, get miles away, and let the place blow. Nothing to out of the ordinary."
"You've done this before?"
"Not with live bombs, or in a real target, but I have done tons of practice runs."
"Ok… Do you think that this is a good idea?"
"What do you mean?"
"Maybe *he* isn't such a bad guy. Do we really need to fight him on this? Maybe we could just talk."
"Zephyr, I'm all for one giving a person a second chance, but don't you think we've tried that?"
"No, not really."
"We tried Zephyr. The league tried to talk to him many times. It never helped. My father, Aunt Maria, even Mari's father tried to talk him out conquest. The others gave up or never got a chance. The time for second chances is over. He's a psycho and we have to stop him."
Zephyr looked at the ground. Maybe Scourge really is psycho? Then why does he feel doubt?
"You're just nervus. Don't worry. You won't be doing this alone."
"Thanks Angie." Zephyr nodded and turned towards the stairs. The mission was tomorrow and he couldn't stop it.
